


the spirit of man

by ell (amywaited)



Series: on this lonely barricade [1]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Cute, Declarations Of Love, Established Relationship, Falling In Love, Fluff, Love Confession, M/M, Slice of Life, Typical Night Vale Weirdness, cuteness, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:46:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24413812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amywaited/pseuds/ell
Summary: He forgets, sometimes, how much Cecil would do for him, and how much he would do for Cecil in return. It’s only moments like these, where their fingers are twisted together, and the sun only barely rivals him in how deep his love for Cecil runs, that he can remember.Cecil stops in the middle of the street. He pulls Carlos out into the road, and all of the cars pass around them, like Cecil does this every day. “I love you,” he says, and for as loud as the words are, it’s like Carlos is the only one who can hear them. “And look at this. This would never have happened, if I hadn’t met you.”
Relationships: Carlos/Cecil Palmer
Series: on this lonely barricade [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1796329
Comments: 8
Kudos: 53





	the spirit of man

**Author's Note:**

> enjoy! 
> 
> title from [spirit of man](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtI70W-Jxi4) from the war of the worlds (my favourite EVER <3)

Carlos falls in Love on a Tuesday.

He jerks in his desk chair and his pen slides a red line across the page, and he feels his stomach drop out from underneath him and that’s how he knows. How he knows that he loves Cecil, and he loves Night Vale (even when they’re one in the same), and he knows, almost immediately, that he would do anything for Cecil - without question.

Anything.

“Carlos?” Stan asks. He looks up with a pair of goggles pushed up on the top of his head, and a lab coat with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. “You alright?”

Carlos nods. Then he notices the shattered beaker on the floor next to him, and he grins. It’s like his brain is pouring straight out from around his ears, and he has never felt so free. “I’m brilliant, Stan,” he says, beaming wider than he thinks he ever has in his life. “I’m just amazing. Thank you. Wow.”

If Stan is concerned, he doesn’t show it. He just smiles back, and it doesn’t quite reach his eyes, and says, “alright, then. Lusia’s on lunch today, right?”

“Right,” Carlos says. He’s not sure, honestly. The lunch rota is something Dave came up with (on account of the fact that the packed lunch he used to bring every day was either eaten before he could get to it or transformed into multiple iterations of sentient, transient slime, and would escape out of the window as fast as it could), and Carlos hasn’t looked at it twice since Dave posted it on the back of the door to the lab. “Is she?”

“Yeah,” Stan says. He runs an ungloved hand over the rota on the door and leaves a trail of something that looks decidedly toxic. Carlos isn’t sure how he can even read the rota anymore; Rachelle had attacked it with a sharpie in its first days and now most of it is unintelligible. And that’s not to mention the assorted burn marks/scorch marks/chemical burns/water drops/acid attacks it’s had to withstand since its creation. “You’re supposed to be meeting Cecil today.”

It’s like a Pavlovian response, Carlos thinks. Whenever Cecil’s mentioned, his heart skips a beat, and now he knows - he just knows - he loves him. “Am I?” he asks.

Stan nods. He pulls his goggles back down, and it’s better late than never, Carlos supposes. “Yep. He’ll be here in a few minutes, hopefully.”

“Given time allows,” Carlos agrees. He puts down his red pen, and admires the streak it made across his page. “I’ll be back later, then. Don’t burn the lab down.”

“When have we ever burnt the lab down?” Stan asks.

Carlos only has to look at their ‘fire department called’ tally chart on the wall near the window for Stan to flush and look away. It’s currently on sixteen tallies, and Carlos isn’t quite sure how, given he can’t remember where at least eight of them came from. “And remember lab etiquette.”

“We remember lab etiquette,” Stan says.

“Good,” Carlos says. Then, the door opens, and Stan leaps back. It seems equally Pavlovian, and Carlos isn’t sure if it’s because he’s shocked that the door opened, or a self defence instinct upon seeing Cecil’s outfit for today.

Carlos thinks he’s never looked so beautiful.

“Oh, wonderful, you are here,” Cecil says, and his voice fills the room so brilliantly, that Carlos can feel it all the way to his bones. His lips turn into a smile, and Carlos throws himself into his arms.

“I missed you,” he declares. Cecil’s arms wrap around his back and his fingers seem to duplicate. “I love you,” Carlos says, and the very words make Emotions bubble up in his gut.

“I missed you, too,” Cecil says. He seems to understand the double meaning to Carlos’s words, seems to know that they aren’t as shallow as they sound, and he knows that Carlos means more than he can say. “Are you ready for your lunch break? I see you’ve still got your science to be doing.”

Carlos shakes his head. “I’m totally ready. Science can wait. You, Cecil, are far more important today.”

“Is it a special occasion?” Stan asks. He starts clearing up the broken beaker next to Carlos’s desk.

Cecil smiles. Carlos can feel it in his skin. “Carlos loves me.”

“Well, we all knew that,” Stan says.

“No,” Cecil corrects. Carlos giggles, and buries his head in the joint between Cecil’s neck and his shoulder. He pushes his nose into the skin, and smells underneath all of Cecil’s body washes and perfumes and the laundry detergent, and breathes in his very essence. “Carlos  _ loves  _ me.”

Stan looks doubtful. “Is this a sex thing?”

“No!” Cecil exclaims. Carlos can taste his bewilderment. “It’s not a sex thing. Words have meaning,” he says, matter-of-factly. “And Carlos is using his. Today. It’s definitely a special occasion.”

“Doesn’t Carlos always use his words?” Stan asks.

“He’s using his Words, today,” Cecil explains. “It’s the most joyous of days. Oh, Stan, when you have someone to use your Words, you’ll understand. You’ll know how beautiful it is. Oh, Carlos!”

“We should go,” Carlos says. Cecil nods, and smiles, and laughs, and Carlos feels it all in his stomach. “Bye, Stan. I’ll message you if I’m not going to be back before five.”

“Why wouldn’t you be back before five if you’re going for lunch?” Stan asks, in response. He shrugs and sits back down at his desk and starts configuring his microscope, so Carlos takes the dismissal and pushes Cecil out of the door.

“I forgot you were coming today,” Carlos says, once they’re out of the building. The sun is wonderfully warm, and Cecil’s hand is in his, holding tight enough that he can feel his pulse going. 

“Of course I was coming today,” Cecil says. He leads Carlos down the street. “Even if it wasn’t on your lunch rota, I was going to come anyway. I couldn’t very well let you use your first Words on your own, could I? That would be awfully irresponsible of me.”

“Thanks,” Carlos says. He forgets, sometimes, how much Cecil would do for him, and how much he would do for Cecil in return. It’s only moments like these, where their fingers are twisted together, and the sun only barely rivals him in how deep his love for Cecil runs, that he can remember.

Cecil stops in the middle of the street. He pulls Carlos out into the road, and all of the cars pass around them, like Cecil does this every day. “I love you,” he says, and for as loud as the words are, it’s like Carlos is the only one who can hear them. “And look at this. This would never have happened, if I hadn’t met you.”

“What wouldn’t have happened?” Carlos asks. He puts his hands on Cecil’s forearms when he puts his hands on Carlos’s waist, pulling him closer and closer until Carlos can almost pretend they’re sharing the same skin.

Cecil’s happiness is infectious. “We wouldn’t be looking at this very sky, had we never met. It would be a sky. One that never would have met you, met both of us. And look; now it gets to hear your Words, too.”

Carlos leans in so he can peck Cecil’s lips. “I don’t even know what Words are,” he admits.

“Well, you feel it, don’t you?” Cecil asks. He pushes their foreheads together. “Your heart, beating a different rhythm than the one you woke up with. Your skin doesn’t feel like your own, but it fits perfectly anyway. You’ve never felt like you belonged anywhere more.”

“Yeah,” Carlos says. “How’d you know?”

Cecil’s answering kiss tells him everything, but he explains it anyway. “It’s love, isn’t it? I knew it as soon as I heard, of course. I’d felt it the very moment I met you, but it figures it would take an outsider a little while longer to feel it too. But you did, today.”

“I still don’t get it,” Carlos says.

“Your heart,” Cecil says. “It’s with mine, now. Don’t you feel it?”

He can. If he reaches, if he stretches as far as he can, Carlos can almost feel Cecil’s lungs contract. He puts his hand on Cecil’s chest, and feels his heart beat, and it’s perfectly in sync with his own. “I do. I… I feel it.”

Cecil kisses him again, and the cars continue to drive past them. For one day, it’s like they’re the only people existing in the world, and it’s wonderful.

**Author's Note:**

> i thought the idea of cecil having this emphasis on Words would be really cool given his voice of night vale thing (and i think it could make a cool series type thing if any ones interested in that? im sure i could do something with it). i just thought itd be fun to try and see what i could spin with this idea that cecil would hold speech/words in high regard.
> 
> anyway: let me know your thoughts! sorry i didnt post cecilos in a few days but ive been working on my wolfstar fic and some merthur stuff too and i had no inspo for these two, so...
> 
> alas! we're back now. take care everyone <3


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